Gibson’s book, which I recommend if it’s new to you, is focused on a branding specialist with an uncanny knack for recognizing patterns.

She’s a fascinating, strong lead, Gibson’s Cayce Pollard—not least because she’s effectively allergic to the very logos and other trappings that corporate clients might spin from her genius.

William Gibson – photo: Michael O’Shea

I’d like to have seen what the late director Anthony Minghella could have done with Gibson’s book; it lives in the sorts of personality-loaded textures Minghella loved. (He wrote and directed the screenplay of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, and won the Academy for his direction of The English Patient.)

Now, this is a somewhat sauntering entry into today’s column, isn’t it?

That might give you a clue a to the sort of pattern recognition I tend to find myself doing—or flattering myself that I’m doing—as I ply my journo-ferret act through the Ether’s sister gases of the industry! the industry!…blog posts, news articles, survey results, book-release details.

I’m no Cayce Pollard, not even in my Buzz Rickson. But I see small consistencies running alongside me from time to time, clever spacings between them, the same slant of light flashing around them. Sometimes you’ll see me tweeting something as your “Blog Sommelier,” suggesting you pair one writing with another.

3 Rights of a Novelist: 1) To have a cover that reflects the book’s content 2) To promote the book, not the author 3) To break a deadline — Jonny Geller (@JonnyGeller) September 3, 2013

In that vein, I want to show you a small collection of pieces that I think—and maybe I hope—are indicative of a positive drift in the digital disruption for authors. Being blissfully (or shamefully) science-free, I’m not concerned here about whether three moves make a mamba or four comments constitute a conga line.

I’m not saying “trend” or “meme” or “tide” or “surge” or “migration” or “my gracious,” either. I’m simply saying, hey look at this:

This will seem like an odd question from someone who expends a lot of energy giving writing and publishing advice in a half-dozen arenas: attending a weekly critique group, writing a monthly post here at WU, participating on online writing forums and Facebook groups, fielding e-mails from aspiring writers, retweeting links to smart writerly advice through Twitter, and on and on: What’s the point?

Do you really need writing advice? Following advice perfectly doesn’t make anyone into a great writer. You can follow every rule and still write clunky sentences, unbelievable plots, and wooden characters.

Her piece is Is Advice a Vice? And you can recognize a pattern of just such questions right now.

I’ve found that one of the most difficult parts of teaching for me is that the students never learn, if you will: the class just keeps coming in new, term after term, fresh and needing the same material the last one did. To a teacher, the world can appear perpetually in need of instruction.

And with so many people newly heading to that International Kitchen Table to write—internet-inspired aspirationals—the advice mill, the training hubs of our big conferences, the special exchanges of “tips ‘n’ tricks,” sure, all certainly have a place. But how well do we handle all this?

Soon you’ll crack open a fortune cookie to read: The wisest writer puts his or her manuscript in a drawer for a month, and then looks back at it with fresh and rested eyes. Lottery: 06-18-07-04-25-11

(OK, whichever of you creates A Writer’s Fortune cookies, I get a cut of that action, call for instructions on where to deposit those checks to me.)

But how many of us really know how to use all this advice? Particularly when much of it is written by writers for other writers, how much of it is a case of the sight-impaired leading the hard-of-hearing?

Does anyone ever worry (you may remember that I like this analogy) that all these how-to books for writers by other writers start to come across like John Updike’s ladies of the church who fund-raise by selling cupcakes to each other?

Before we get back to McHenry, let’s look at another take on how so much of this advice lands on us.

Contradicting Our Contradictions

I’m sure you’ve read countless books and blog posts on methods of writing your book. Perhaps you’ve been advised to write a sh***y first draft, a la the incomparable Anne Lamott. Alternatively, you may have heard the advice, edit as you go, so that your revisions are not so overwhelming. Hmm. Which method to choose?

And what about the “plotters vs. pantsers” debate? Some writers prefer to plot out their whole novel and work from an outline. Others call themselves “seat of the pants” writers — they have a rough idea of where the story is going but they don’t really know until it unfolds itself as they write it. (Sounds scary to me, but whatever.)

Gardner’s piece goes for the creativity cycle crowd:

There’s the whole “time of day” issue. Some folks swear you’re at your most creative in the early hours, and insist that you should get up before dawn and hit the computer. But others are aware that they’re most creative late at night.

And critique groups:

Many people swear by them. I recommend them all the time. But… critique groups don’t actually work for everyone.

“You haven’t done this?”

If you send a rough draft to an agent, it’s going to get rejected. That thing better be polished almost to the point of self-publication. That means you workshopped it, had it critiqued, had some beta reads, have done seven, eight, nine full passes through the work on your own. You’ve read it aloud, looking for typos. You’ve had a text-to-speech program read it aloud, listening for typos. You haven’t done this? Neither path will lead where you hope.

I’m seeing this conundrum a lot at WorldCon. I’ve met a lot of authors weighing their options, seen a ton of hands shoot up in panels hoping for that one last piece of advice to push them off the fence one way or the other. There’s a path on both sides of that fence, and writers can see crowds beating the grass flat. They can see the books that lie along either way.

The push and the pull of this decision, in particular—to self-publish or seek a contract—is, as Howey implies with compassion, relatively new on the scale we’re seeing it.

In the past, some lone pioneers tried to forge their own self-sufficient trails and others paid through the nose for the vanity-publishing route. But a movement toward self-publishing on the scale we’re seeing now is unprecedented. Much advice about it is, by definition new. Some of it, surely, is untested.

Howey:

We fear self-publishing because of the stigma, but it is rapidly fading. We fear it because there are so many bad books out there, but those aren’t your books. We gaze longingly at the beautiful hardbacks lined up in the store windows, but those aren’t yours either. And the path didn’t make them that way. Not all that way.

And, like McHenry and Gardner, what Howey is here to tell you is that you know what you need. You know, or you’ll find out.

McHenry:

The secret…is this: It’s just advice. Anything that anyone says about writing or publishing, on the internet or elsewhere, is just advice. It’s not a secret or a rule or a magic bean. It might help you out or it might not. It might save one book and wreck another. But the right advice at the right time can save you a lot of heartache and frustration.

Gardner:

Here’s my point: Don’t let anyone talk you into “one right way” of writing your books. Ask people for their input and recommendations, try different things, and make up your own mind. Don’t be afraid to experiment. If something’s not working, try something else. Do what works for you! Don’t apologize for it, don’t feel the need to justify yourself, and don’t feel like you have to try and fit in. Just like at Burger King… have it your way.

And Howey:

The work is the work. Whichever path you choose, it won’t become drek just because you self-published. Books don’t rub off on each other like this. If anything, you will shine by comparison. And along that other path, where the books are all professional and polished, you can’t see the ones that didn’t make it. The slush pile is buried. It’s behind those bushes, out of sight. The work is the work.

The self-reliance required to delineate helpful advice from something else comes more easily to some than others. But it probably has never been more important for writers than it is today.

At no time in history have so many been able to say so much to you with such ease.

Both from within the industry and from outside it, their advice flies at you, continually. Just as you sit down to write, it slams it into your inbox each day. Every time you think you’ve worked out the big kink in that chapter, you’re pelted with new guidance by a rain of tweets. You’re afraid to live without it (what if you miss something really smart and good?) but you can barely think your way through it—it awaits you in terse comments and it slaps you silly in starred rankings.

So I like this little pattern I’ve spotted, questioning it all a bit, reminding ourselves that it’s just advice (not scripture), you can have it your way (not theirs), and, as Howey says, “How far you get is up to you and the work you put in, either way you go.”

Enough advice from this column for today, too.

Our friend Howey, a man of so much heart, suggests you get past the recognizable patterns of “do it this way” and “no, do it that way”:

Stop looking at those crowds and those books. Look at the work in your hand.

What’s your experience? Do you find sometimes that the pressure to take in all the advice becomes a hindrance, in itself? Or are you handling it comfortably and moving ahead on-pace?

What’s very helpful here, in addition to his careful assessment, is the appeal he makes:

The truth is that it’s hard enough to write and publish a novel without having to worry that…that immense effort will result in getting unfairly slimed and harassed by a pack of online bullies. It’s not hyperbole to say that there are talented authors out there looking at this landscape who will conclude it’s not worth it, and great books that won’t be published as a result of this culture if it continues. This really has gone too far, and the tide needs to turn back. People writing these reviews need to wake up and recognize the humanity of the authors they’re trashing and think of the people they’re hurting. It’s eminently possible to write a negative review without abusing the person who wrote the book.

Book-based social network Goodreads, which Amazon acquired this spring, will be integrated into the device in a post-launch software update, with access to Goodreads from the top navigation bar on the new Paperwhite. The company notes that “We’ve made it easy to take every Amazon purchase you’ve made — print or digital — and add it to Goodreads.” VP of Kindle Content Russ Grandinetti told me the Goodreads integration will arrive sometime this holiday season.

This kind of integration is something I’ve hoped we’d see develop as one result of Seattle’s smart acquisition of the reader-recommendation site. And as such a functionality approaches, the question of a culture of hostility, even in a relatively small part of Goodreads’ huge operation is a serious one.

I have a lot of faith in the best intentions of Goodreads’ and Amazon’s administrations. And I like to remind people that the Goodreads community has 20 million members: we’re talking about moderating something the size of the Australian or Sri Lankan population. Almost two-thirds as many people as live in Canada. Would you like to moderate that?

Bransford’s commentary is, as is usual in his writings, the kind of level-headed, intelligently concerned look we need at this odd development. I commend the piece to you.

Related

Porter Anderson / @Porter_Anderson

Porter Anderson (@Porter_Anderson) is a journalist and consultant in publishing. He's The Bookseller's (London) Associate Editor in charge of The FutureBook. He's a featured writer with Thought Catalog (New York), which carries his reports, commentary, and frequent Music for Writers interviews with composers and musicians. And he's a regular contributor of "Provocations in Publishing" with Writer Unboxed. Through his consultancy, Porter Anderson Media, Porter covers, programs, and speaks at publishing conferences and other events in Europe and the US, and works with various players in publishing, such as Library Journal's SELF-e, Frankfurt Book Fair's Business Club, and authors. You can follow his editorial output at Porter Anderson Media, and via this RSS link.

So helpful to read this today. I think of Einstein’s words: “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” When that servant truly serves, and the two collaborate, I think advice has its best effect, to the degree that it applies at the time. Really appreciate your hunting and gathering (and distilling and crystallizing) on all our behalf.

@phyllisring:disqus Thank you, Phyllis, for your excellent reading of the piece and for that wonderful quote from Einstein. So telling, really, and reassuring in an odd way that even in his day and from his perspective this need to honor “the servant” of the rational (for us, pedagogical) element was so strong. I agree with you on the collaboration of the two impulses and contexts, of course, but as we know, their coordination is hard at the best of times and we’ve simply never seen anything like the ease and multiplicity with which so many can offer advice in all… Read more »

Oh, excellent, as always, Porter. In this Wild West atmosphere, many people are searching for the One True Path. (Wouldn’t that be nice? It would certainly save a lot of time, if not money, to be shown The Way at an early stage.) They don’t know – but will eventually learn, as we all do – that everyone has their own One True Path. My best friend has written mostly romances for 25 years, mostly traditionally published. There little about her path that mirrors mine. That doesn’t mean that one is right and one is less right, just that they… Read more »

Ha! When palms grow in that Danish winter, I’ll post a shot of me in the Buzz Rickson, Viki 🙂 Thanks for your comment. You’re right, of course, that the assaults going on in the worst instances on Goodreads and elsewhere are (a) not reviews and (b) not about publishing. They’re referred to only as reviews because that’s what the founders of Goodreads expected to see on their site. I’m quite sure nobody is more perplexed than they are by this strange development. And no, this type of bullying is not an anticipated element of publishing, though Goodreads is not… Read more »

Right. It’s one of those special occasions — because its value to the industry is quite unique at this point, based on its size and potential and its Amazon seat — when we need to stand like good-but-concerned friends. We want to see it pull through this and come out better and our job is to be sure all our efforts reflect both our support in general and our concern in specific.

I’d say that as lucky as we all may be to have Goodreads, Goodreads is pretty lucky to have such friends, too. 🙂

As someone who needed good writing craft books, learned from them, became a selling writer in part because of them, and came up with practices and techniques of my own via trial and error, I started teaching and writing books and articles for Writer’s Digest to help people who are as I was: a little scared I didn’t have what it takes, mixed with an unwillingness to ever give up. When I teach I advise two tracks: a craft track and a production track. Spend actual time studying and learning, but a greater amount of time writing. And when you… Read more »

@jamesscottbell:disqus Hey, Jim, thanks for dropping in on this — you’ve certainly earned your stripes on both sides of the advice equation. I like what you’re saying here in particular: “Spend actual time studying and learning, but a greater amount of time writing. And when you write, write. Don’t think about “rules.” That’s for after and before. But you need both sides of the brain chugging away.” This is advice (!) that Sherrey, for example, will appreciate (she’s commenting below and asking about precisely the point you make so well — not badgering oneself with “rules” while writing. Some of… Read more »

Mr. Bell: perhaps you are just assuming it as a given for all writers-in-progress, but nowhere do you make mention of the most important learning aid for all writers–works of fiction and non-fiction written by the best writers. When I couldn’t get out of it, I used to teach undergraduate creative writing at my university. On the first day, I would go around the room, asking students how many novels/short story collections they’d read in the last year, and what the titles were. The results were revealing to the students, and depressing to me. A crazy divide existed for many… Read more »

Porter, I’ve been lurking for some time now, thanks to good friend, Kathy Pooler. Today I’ve found my courage to leave a comment. I have read some of the posts mentioned here, i.e. Nathan Bransford’s on Goodreads and Amazon, and Rachel Gardner’s piece. However, you brought to my attention a most important consideration for a writer still drafting.her first major work. Overwhelming is the only word to describe the number of how-to books for writing. And then everyone telling you which one is the best to read and follow. I’m beginning to feel as if I’ll never read them all,… Read more »

@Sherrey:disqus Hey, Sherrey, Thanks for coming out of “lurkdom” and joining us here — any friend of Kathy Pooler is a friend of mine. You’re bringing up a very vexing and worthy question here. It’s truly a serious issue, trying to stay current with the best instructive advice in an industry that’s reinventing itself while trying to free yourself enough to move ahead on a work in progress. Happily, one of our best Ethernauts and sages in the industry! the industry! has just weighed in with some great guidance on this. It’s James Scott Bell, just above your comment here.… Read more »

@Porter_Anderson:disqus @jamesscottbell:disqus Hi, Porter! I really needed to read your reply today. And thanks for referring me up to Jim’s comments. His words — “Spend actual time studying and learning, but a greater amount of time writing. And when you write, write. Don’t think about “rules.” — really spoke to me. They will be printed out and tacked above my computer for day-to-day inspiration and a reminder to split my time between learning and writing. At 67, I have to write more than I study or I won’t get these books finished. Working for attorneys for almost 40 years amply… Read more »

Hi Porter. So glad I clicked through from my inbox, which strips out all images from Ether no matter what I do. I would have missed that jacket ! I’m a little surprised there aren’t more comments yet. Perhaps that means most of your readers agree with you. I thank you for curating these conversational threads querying the online writing advice-culture. I’m glad to know it’s not just me who wonders about the point of them all. I’ve concluded that homilies about writing and lists of advice are a sophisticated form of procrastination for people avoiding the work of writing.… Read more »

@virginialloyd:disqus Hey, Virginia, Thanks for these really cogent thoughts — I couldn’t agree with you more about the problem we’re seeing of premature submission. One of the hallmarks for many in the self-publishing movement as a whole is the speed to market so many feel (not without reason) that traditional publishing thwarts. But unfortunately, there’s a lot of amateurism in how work is prepared, too frequently, these days. (The problem for an amateur, as we always say without any rancor, is that he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know.) I’m skeptical of “self-editing,” not just because I’ve been an editor,… Read more »

Thank you, Porter, for another terrific column. I value your reporting, analysis and good spirit. Since I got an iPad a couple of years ago, my online reading has skyrocketed. (I used to print out long articles to read later, slumped on the couch. After a full day at the computer, I couldn’t sit there more hours to read. Now I click “read later” and it goes to my digital Pocket.) This device has given me more access to information at the same time that, as you noted, the amount of information available to all of us has exploded. (Five… Read more »

@kellyecrocker:disqus Hey, Kellye, Sorry for the delay here. I get exactly what you’re saying about an Internet sabbatical and sometimes think of one, myself. What I always seem to come back to, though, is that management (with which I find RescueTime.com so useful http://ow.ly/eljbQ ) is really up to me and that any respite from a sabbatical is going to be temporary … in fact, even when on vacation, I stay in touch with things online because it’s far less stressful that way than coming back and finding everything up to my eyeballs. (Many do not agree with this course,… Read more »

[…] Why are writers so reluctant to take themselves seriously? This question has been on my mind a lot lately and it looks like I’m not the only one. One article I read this week answers that question of when to put “WRITER” on your business card (something I still struggle with), plus some other questions that really matter. And in this week’s ETHER, we hear Porter Anderson’s take on writing advice, and how much is too much. […]

I don’t know if you’re aware, Porter, but Nathan was bullied as a result of that article. I understand hostile shelves were made, one-star reviews given, hostile group tweets, etc. I think your approach of having faith that Goodreads will control its membership is a collaborative one. However, I would take another path, which is public pressure, boycotts and threatening lawsuits. Just another way to go. 🙂 I think it would be extraordinarily simple for Goodreads to control this. Their membership may be in the millions, but their bully population is small. There are a few things they could do… Read more »

[…] first post on this topic that I noticed was Writing on the Ether: Pattern Recognition and Writerly Advice, by Porter Anderson, which was published on September 5. Noting a pattern of like-minded posts, […]

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About Jane

I have more than 20 years of experience in the book and magazine publishing industry, with expertise in digital media and the future of authorship. I speak around the world at events such as BookExpo America, Frankfurt Book Fair, and Digital Book World, and have keynoted writing conferences such as The Muse & The Marketplace. Read more.